Finding Happiness

by Susan Warner

A treasure worth having is a treasure worth facing your past for.

When Olivia came to Markarava she found a place that gave her a voice and she didn’t’ have to hide herself or her ideas behind another person. Her insecurities shrunk but her loneliness grew. Growing up in a traditional family she was always told family or work. When she went to work her family didn’t understand why an attractive woman would turn away from the men who wanted to take care of her. As the town gets ready to celebrate the resilience of towns and families she tries to leave only to find she’s been volunteered because she’s so good at organizer the whole event.

Jeremy Collins can’t believe he’s working on the families are strong event. If it wasn’t for the fact that he needs the money to pay for a father in a home he wouldn’t’ even consider it. Jeremy knows he’s not good at relationships or families. Then when he’s teamed up with Livia from a nearby project he’s sure he’ll be stuck with Ms. Bubbles. Instead he finds a kindred soul.

As they organize the event, hear the stories that started the event they find the past doesn’t look bleak and maybe they can do the family and relationship thing, if they have the right person. Will they have the courage to trust and open their hearts to one another?

Kindle Edition

Published October 24, 2021

About the author

Susan Warner was born in New Bern, North Carolina. These days she lives in the melting pot of the United States, New York. She writes about sweet small-town romance as a way to remember her roots. She has been blessed with four grown children and a man who cares about her enough to understand when the voices start-up in her head, it’s time for her to go to work.
She originally started telling stories to her kids to benefit from learning about country values even though they weren’t raised there. As time went on, she found others who wanted to hear her stories. Stories that believe in the goodness of people, the sanctity of love, and understand that forgiveness and compassion make us better human beings.
When Susan isn’t writing, she reads voraciously, volunteers to help the homeless and animals when she can, and is eternally trying to get the gauge right in her knitting.

Reviews

[Cath · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is book four of the Hidden Treasures series and the main characters are Olivia Lewis and Jeremy Collins. Olivia was used to getting itchy feet and changing jobs every two years or so and that anniversary has just been reached in her job at Markarava. When one of the three bosses calls her in, she thinks she is about to be sacked, but is in fact being asked to take over representing them at one of Cooper Sands main events, Family Strong. She feels she is completely unsuited to this role, having been brought up in care and losing her younger sister when she was just twelve, as they were taken to different homes due to their ages. She has a contact who is trying to help track her long lost sister, but juvenile records are sealed and even a sibling has difficulties accessing any details of another. She finally has found a place she feels she belongs, with Markarava being run by women and helping women to achieve projects of their own, whilst another company helps the men in the town. The town has its own small town way of doing things which seems to work for it, however odd an outsider like Jeremy may find it.
Jeremy’s good friend Daniel recommended him to Mr Tillman who is behind some of the events in town and he has been roped in to headline the Family Strong event. It gives him the chance to be a bit closer to the home his father is in, not that he gets on with his father much at all. His father always wants to know why he hasn’t gotten married yet, not about any successes he may have had at work. His father changed completely after his other died and he certainly wouldn’t do an event about families being strong, if he didn’t need it to pay for his father’s care! Because of his father’s example, he has stayed away from relationships and any sort of personal commitment, believing he would be as bad as his father. When he finds he is on the committee with Olivia/Livia, he agrees to continue, unable to get her out of his mind, but also refusing to start any sort of relationship. There is also a side story with Caroline, the woman who collates all of the town’s events and information, and her previous best friend during her school days Mark. She thought they would be together, but he went and married someone else and had a daughter, leaving her alone. Neither know the real truth of why they grew apart all those years ago and will finally have the chance to regroup at his daughter’s push, during the planning of this Family Event. If you have read the other books in the series, you will know who the forceful women at Markarava are, plus their other halves, but it doesn’t really matter if you haven’t.
Both main characters have had a life different from most, with lots of difficulties along the way, which has put them off relationships and left other things as their main aims. Really they are deluding themselves as everyone needs someone, at some time in their lives and these two will find their attraction cannot be denied. Stumbling blocks in their way will be overcome if they are determined enough, including a nurse who considers Olivia a thief for a previous action and is rigid in her beliefs, plus a father who finds it difficult to show how proud he is of his son, without berating him for his lack of a wife or family. The Family event will bring them altogether in more ways than one, as this small town continues its stellar work at bringing people together. I received an ARC copy of this book from BookSprout and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.

[Judy & Marianne from Long and Short Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

If a reader likes stories set in small towns, where the communities watch out for their own and like to play matchmakers, then this book might appeal. Both Olivia and Jeremy have friends in town who are trying to watch their backs for them, but at the same time believe they’re good for one another and try to guide Olivia and Jeremy towards their own happy-ever-after. Easier said than done.

Both the hero and heroine have noble traits in their personalities – they both believe in keeping promises, fulfilling obligations and won’t quit until there’s no option. That means stubbornness is a strong component in the story. Jeremy wants to take care of his aging father, and Olivia is searching for her missing baby sister. For some reason, one main character thinks they can work it out and be together, and the other believes those kinds of commitments preclude having a healthy long-term relationship. Those are some serious hurdles they both have to overcome and are one of the major plot points.

The dialogue was good, the sense of community was strong, the sub-romance between Caroline and Mark was appealing but it wrapped up in a quick disjointed manner. But I’m coming from not having read any of the previous books in the series. Perhaps it’ll be clearer for fans since they know the backstory. Parts of Finding Happiness were confusing at times but not enough to pull me out of the story. It was nice to have a solid HEA though because Finding Happiness has more of a ‘happy for now’ tone to it for the main characters. Perhaps I need to read book 5 in the series for the full effect. I’m pretty sure that’s the case because there’s a dangling plot thread that belongs to Olivia that has to be tied up. It’s mentioned in this story and progress is made, but for Olivia to be 100% happy, she needs closure. It makes sense that the last book in the series will dot all the I’s and cross all the T’s.

This was a good read, fine for passing the time in at a doctor’s appointment, or getting your oil changed. It’s a story about personal conflicts that need to be overcome before Olivia and Jeremy can move on towards their future together. It was engrossing and entertaining, and I enjoyed reading the book. It’s obvious to me that I’m going to have to read the final book in the series. Nothing like a little closure to make my day.

[Elaine Coghlan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finding Happiness: Hidden Treasures #4 by Susan Warner
I have just found this author and have enjoyed reading this book. I found Finding Happiness to be a great read, with wonderful characters and a storyline that was easy to follow and it also felt real.
A great book that is written beautifully, a clean romance. I'm looking forward to reading the next one in the series, this sweet, dreamy story kept me glued to the pages all the way to the end!
I honestly can recommend this book, it is a great read.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fourth book in the Hidden Treasures series a well written story with a good storyline. Olivia cames to Markarava and meets Jeremy Collins both have things in their past that they must overcome in order to move forward. I enjoyed seeing this story come together. I received a copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Lucia Valenzuela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet story about Jeremy and Olivia. In Olivia’s experience, nothing lasts longer than two years. Jeremy faces a tough journey to convince her that she deserves love and that he is going to be there. Enjoyable.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Margie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m going to be honest, I really found Olivia to be too needy. She needed to be strong, she needed to be in charge, she couldn’t really trust anyone. Susan Warner is really good at developing characters with strengths and weakness, and putting that into words. She combines strong characters, romance, humor, and human frailties into a really good story. I enjoyed this story.

[C bond · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a quick sweet read with heart. Olivia and Jeremy were an ok couple. I did not feel the passion I felt in the previous read. But I did like this one, maybe a re read.